Design for operation

As the industry has a need for more efficient and fuel-flexible solutions, there is a growing desire to shift away from
specification (contractual) design and more towards data-driven operational design. For the yachting market, this
translates into extending leisure at sea while ensuring the demands for lower fuel consumption, increased operational
efficiency, and higher degrees of comfort. To ensure these expectations can be achieved, the functional usage of the
yacht has to be investigated during the early design phases, and performance has to be tuned to fit-the-use. However,
current hull form optimisation practices are usually presented only in terms of hydrodynamic resistance reduction to
fulfill (sometimes arbitrary) maximum speed and range requirements in unrealistic seagoing conditions governed by
contractual constraints. Unfortunately, based on extensive data monitoring studies, yachts typically operate only a
fraction of their operational life at these top speeds and in those conditions. Therefore, these vessels commonly
function in regions where the optimisation process is not focused, and consequently, the hydrodynamic efficiency is
much lower than expected (influencing vital operational metrics such as vessel range and cost). Therefore, the paper's
objective is to show the impact on the hull form design once the operational profile and conditions are taken into
account. In that respect, a re-optimisation process of two existing Feadship yachts is carried out based on
implementing data-driven operational profiles and seagoing conditions. Operating cost, environmental impact and
performance will be assessed considering the lifecycle.